The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-10-28
RATTLESNAKES.
What Old Simon Kent Knows
About Them.
Friends OF His, But Not to- Te Trusted-HI,
Eleven-Year- Ola Pet-Whut They Wm
Eat and the Fatality OF
Their Bite.


Their Bite.
Eyes" said Simon Kent, the rattle
snake king Of Clinton County, whose |
home is near the headquarters of |
Paddv's Run, in this township, Il !
think I know few things about rat
tlesnales. l ought to. I've lived next
door neighbor to them for forty years
They're friends of mine, but Iwouldn't
trust one Of them a single second if he
was i'm reach of me-"
Kent and a siXteen-year-Old son live
alone i'm the woods. The father is
man of Intelligence, but spends mostof
his time in capturing rattlesnakes,
which are abundant in his locality.
He has sometimes as many as two
hundred of these venomous reptiles in
captivity at one time. He supplies
side-shows and museums with live rat
tlers, and he has quite a trade in tanned
rattlesnako skins, which are used eX-
tensively by manufacturers of fancy
articles. lie also sells large quantities
of rattlesna1e oil, faith i'm its efficacy as
Hniment being general throughout
this part Of Pennsylvania.
i've got a rattlesnake at home, }"
continued the rattIesnake king, "that l
have had for eleven years. ! raised
him from the time he was three inches
long. and ] think the world of him, but
he's cot his fangs in, and / know that
he would Just as leave sock them into
me as into any thing else. l call him
Nicodcmus. l have learned u good
deal about rattlesnakes i'm my long eX-
perience with them, but / have dis
covered more things about them
through Nicodcmus than in any other
way. Among other things, 1 have
found that the rattlesnake changes its
skin twice a year-in July and Septem-
ber-aud that if they CAM get TO water
while they're shedding their skin il
win come off slowly and in pieces, in,
stead of peeling of in one whole piece
from head 20 tail. But I've never
caught onto Just how they get the Skin
on I've gone to bed at night and lef
Nicodemus without his showing an,
moro sign of peeling himself than
he'd been n stick of wood, but i'm tn
morning his old clothes would be lyinl
in one corner of the cage, and he woul,
be as bright as an old-fashioned patch
work quilt in his new ones.
cit is the general impression tina
when rattlesnake is shedding his ski
he rets blind. There is no mistak
that his eyes do get covered with
film at that time. but just put a nous
i'm mis- cage and see how quick he'll co
70 l. 10 So, al
neck every time. A rattlesnake a
WAYS strikes for the neck, and he a
WAYS strikes his prey before he eats i
hut Won may fiji his cage with rats, o
mice. nr frogs, on any thing else b
likes. and helluevCr touch one of thel
unless he's hungry. He kills onl
enough for one meal. and when that
swallowed amy thing and every thin
that's left can crawl over him, jump q
him and tumble him around as muC
as il plca-cs and hen never say boo
The rattespake is not q wanton d
sreyer. nor is he glutton. Tv
mice win make him an ample meal.
had my pet rattlesnake ten months b
fore he ate mouthful or drank a dire
of amy thing. A rattlesnake has bee
known to remain fourteen months
captivity without eating or drinkin
and then all Of a sudden begin to fiji
his appetite. When I put Nicodem
in his cage at the age of ten months
put young dove in with him. Nc
there isn't any thing on the earth or
the air that rattlesnake won't kill Al
eat if he's hungry, and
y, - al 2
rattlesnake kings sunburned boy.
"Oh, yes, except bats, assented t
king. Il put bat in Nicodemt
cage once and I thought he Il go Graz
He coiled himself up i'm one corner
his cage and actually hid his head. I
he'd do was rattle. + was afraid {
bat would scare the snake to death,
took it out of the cage. put c
dove i'm the cage with Nicodemus IN
20 see what he would do. That 10
lived with the snake five years. I've {
ten seen it and Nicodemus asleep
gether. Sometimes tho bird bel
perchcd on the snake, and son
times wrapped up in its col
At the same Time the sRa
was killing birds, mice. You
rabbits and other things right along.
its appetite called for. One day (
dove got its head through one of I
rneshes in the woven wire Of tho Gag
and before it was discovered the pl
bird was choked to death like q phe
ant in n snare. ] got another one
nearly like the dead dove that no {
could have told 'em apart WI
NicDdemus was asleep I put the b
in his cage. The snake woke up ale
10 the afternoon. He had hardly
his eyes ouez d, her he spsaag at
dove ike 81 aash O! Lightning anc ~
his supper off Of her re knew
wasn't his old friend that died.
There is no telling how long
animal win live after being struck
~ 5 rattesrake, ard II may not die At